parents did a cheap hotel half way to baltimore, but you will find a place you can stay cheap and you come in here and up and down this pennsylvania avenue and across constitution avenue, independence, one museum after the other all free. the air and space museum, holocaust museum even. some of these museums are amazing what you can learn here. art museums, it's all here. it's our country and it's your capital and people just don't get it how great a place it is to visit for a couple days. even four or five days. >> two former presidents on site today, president clinton and president carter, both democratic former presidents. president george bush the first, of course, was just released from the hospital recently in houston. he's been in fragile health, but that former president, first president bush and his wife barbara, have just released a statement about today's inauguration. barbara and i send president and mrs. obama and their wonderful girls our best wishes and prayers on this historic day. may almighty god bless them and

our wonderful country over the next four years. >> the parallel that i would draw with president obama's fans, followers would be that of ronald reagan. reagan made the country feel good about itself, and i think that is an element that president obama has. the people that believe in his agenda, believe in him, believe in what he's been able to accomplish. there's a parallel of how they connect to that president, and i think that that is the parallel between reagan and president obama. these folks right here, these wage earners, these middle class answerers, they know that guy in that limousine is their guy. they know that he cares about them, and there is an emotional connection. >> the presidential reviewing stand there out in front of the white house. i am rachel maddow here from our location at the newseum. chris matthews is taking over

our coverage now of the inaugural parade along with martin bashir. he will see you again at 9:00 eastern. all our prime time shows will be live. this is going to be a very fun day and a very fun night. this is msnbc's coverage of the second inauguration of president barack obama. humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify.

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welcome back to msnbc's coverage of the inauguration day. these are live pictures. the president has returned to the motorcade, and the

festivities of the day tonight. i'm joined in the studio here by congressman elijah cummings of maryland. welcome, sir. >> martin, it's always a pleasure. >> it's great to have you. looking at the pictures and comparing it with the last time around, there have been people talking about this being somehow a lower level of enthusiasm, not as significant, but i have to ask you, isn't an african-american winning re-election as president actually just as significant as winning election in the first place? >> no doubt about it, martin. a lot of people were saying that the first time was some type of fluke, that barack obama just outsmarted folks for one time, but you got to remember what he dealt with. every single thing he did, martin, was opposed by the

republicans, everything, everything. he had one of the worst economies in many, many years. he had all kinds of catastrophes and people forget about the bp spill, forget about the economy, they forget about all the jobs we were losing, forget about the unemployment rate at the time he was running for office. but yet and still -- and don't forget voter suppression, voter suppression, all kinds of efforts to strike out early voting, and yet and still he still had a tremendous victory. and i think that was reaffirming. it really was because i think it made a lot of people feel that, first of all, americans got it, they understood what he had gone through, they wanted to reward him for his effort, but more important than that, martin, they saw where he was going, and it wasn't where they were, where they are. they saw where they were going and that's very significant. >> and so you think it was about

the sense of his determination and aspiration in a particular direction that drove this campaign. >> no doubt about it. they were inspired by his aspirations. it's not always you getting it. if they see you on course to do the right things, and keep in mind, martin, if you have got a 72% likability rating, what does that say? that says people must see something in you that they relate to, that they feel good about, that they have a trust that you are going in the right direction. let's keep in mind, he was running against romney, and we could never figure out who romney was, but yet and still barack obama just kept a steady beat, even after the first debate. people were still there. >> joining us now is chris matthews, the grate chris matthews. how are you, chris? >> good afternoon, martin. it's been one heck of a day. i tell you, it's a joyous day filled with fun novelty items.

we've beenai arguing whether th president can argue. there was some focus on domestic issues, but he also seemed to be sending a message to our potential enemies overseas that he wants to try to square things. it runs completely against the direction of the republican campaign of the last year where he's now saying we don't have to go to war with iran. let's see if we can find some common understanding here that prevents them from putting us in a position where we have to make war with them, and i think that was a very powerful statement. i think when everything else is forgotten here today, what's going to be remembered is the united states president sent a message to our potential enemies and look what happened. maybe something good will come of this. there he is getting out at the white house. >> congressman, the president took his oath today on two bibles, one once used by dr.

martin luther king. of course today is the marking of that day, mlk day, and one of abraham lincoln. how do you see this moment in the context of that struggle because that was resonant and poignant, wasn't it? >> it was very powerful, and keep in mind he said something, martin, that tied it all together. he said that we realized long ago that we could not survive and thrive as half slave state and half free. and basically i think what he was saying is we've come a long way, and i think he showed what lincoln did to make the country stronger, again having a vision of what we could do, and then i think he tried to use that to say, okay, now a lot has happened in between those times. we still face difficulties, but let's, again, be inspired by the aspiration of those who came before us so that each person

could pursue happiness, you know, life, liberty, and property, and do it in a way that made sense. so i really think -- as i listened to chris, i couldn't help but think of a note i wrote while the president was speaking. i wrote the president is not trying to take us to common ground but take us to higher ground, to higher ground. that's what this was all about. by the way, i think that's what a leader must do. he must help people, number one, have a vision of where they can be, what they can do, but then he must show them they have the power to do it. >> but he wasn't just aspirational, because he also critiqued some of the negative things. we can see the president now with the first lady outside the motorcade waving. those mog nif sent maroon glogl the president as always with a dark suit and a blue tie. but the president also offered some ra buicks. he said, for example, name-calling is not a reasoned

debate. he said i have taken an oath to god and country, not to party and faction. and so i was thinking these were rebukes, frankly, to the house republicans in no small degree. jik tell you there were some republicans sitting right behind me and i could hear them moan when he said about the certain words not being political argument. yeah. i think he was. i think he was sending a clear message, but, again, i think he was trying to say, guys, let's stop playing games. let's not just be using these words that are not getting us anywhere. we've got people who need us to be cooperating, to work together. let's do those things that make our country stronger. i was very pleased to hear him say that we should not be making a choice between those who -- and those who are going to build america. a number of those on medicare

and those of our children. >> we're just going to go to our correspondent al roker who i believe is -- >> reporter: all right. >> there he is. >> reporter: okay? okay? are you -- >> let's go back to chris matthews again. chris? >> yes, well, i think an earlier point i think mr. cummings mentioned it, i think that the president reached out not just to our foreign enemies, but also to his other side politically in this country. i thought he gave a rather i thought benign, even generous statement about what the tea party is all about. people who maintain an almost total skepticism about what government can accomplish for the good of this country. he talked about all the good things government does, whether it's education or it's a safety net or it's regulation when it has to be done in terms of big business. he launched all those good reasons and then he said, of

course, there are people who retain a reasonable skepticism about the role of government in this country. that debate is going to continue. i thought that was an amazing effort. he's not going to win any support from the tea party. he might win though, the congressman may know better, he might be able to make some of the people who represent the suburbs who are not so far right realize this guy is not their enemy. he is somewhat to their left but he's probably as reasonable as anybody to their right in terms of politics these days. >> chris -- >> i think the battle today is between people that want government to function, want the debate to continue, and people that want to take their ball and go home and end government, shut it down, use the filibuster, use government shutdown, use the debt ceiling, use sequestration, any monkey wrench they can throw into the machinery they will throw into the machinery. that's a different faction than the republican party as it used to be and as in some cases it still is. >> yeah. well, chris, you know, it's interesting you said that because in talking to my -- a few of my republican friends as

we left the inauguration, they were saying that they were a little tired of the tea party. these are republicans, a little tired of it, because these were friends of boehner. they felt that speaker boehner was doing a good job, but at the same time in trying to do some things with this president, i'm not talking about center, i'm talking about even right of center, and they were complaining after listening to the speech that there could be and should be more cooperation. but, again, you got about 50 tea partiers that are very active and very much to the far, far right. >> yeah. >> yeah, and they don't come to washington to listen or to meet anybody or to find common ground. they come here to issue no votes and issue press releases and go home and tell people they didn't support anything or anybody, and they figure that they can win primaries that way. it's a new kind of politics, and i don't think it's constructive.

>> the president though also, congressman, talked about the fact that the longer you're in the white house, the more humble you become, and there is an acknowledgment, is there not, that this has been a tough four years for him. >> it's been a very tough four years. keep in mind that i'm the ranking member of the oversight and government reform committee, so i see a lot of the attacks that even the public doesn't see. jo clo jo. >> close up. >> very close up on this president, and it's rough. it's rough. >> the president and the first lady have just passed actually the viewing area where the parade will pass. they're still continuing to walk and enjoying the scene and pointing at various other people. >> one of the things he did do, too, martin, again, i think the president is trying to change the conversation. we've been acting on the turf of the far right, and even when

there is compromise, the compromise is on the far right. you understand what i'm saying? >> i do. >> and so i think the president is trying to pull the conversation more to the center and begin to say, wait a minute, these people who are getting social security are getting $15,000, $16,000 a year. you know, you got some millionaire telling them that they can reduce that $16,000? you try living on that. i think he's shifting that conversation, and i think he's shifting it. i don't think it's as subtle as a lot of people think, and i think he's been buoyed by all that happened in this last election, and i also think that -- i think the left is playing a significant role. >> of course. he also pointedly referred to the fact that we are not takers in his speech. now, that was as clear a reference to the great paul ryan as anyone could be. ayn rand's philosophy, divide the people between takers and makers, and the president was

basically saying we are not takers as a nation. >> that's right. as a matter of fact, he said by helping those who are down and out or in the lower income, we actually strengthen our society, and he's right. and i got to tell you, martin, as i sat there as the son of two former sharecroppers who plowed the land where their foreparents had been slaves and now to sit in the congress of the united states of america, i could relate to that. and i hope and i think what the president is saying is that for -- and he even mentioned a little girl who might be going through some difficulty, may not have some money -- >> growing up in deep poverty. >> but to know she has a chance to be somebody. i could really relate to that. as a matter of fact, it gave me chills and i don't usually get chills. >> there you go, chris. did you get any chills, chris?

sorry, chris. congressman cummings was just saying that when the president referred to a little girl growing up in abject poverty, that having the idea, the possibility that she could make something of herself, he said it really gave him some chills. and he was very moved by that. what was most moving to you, chris, about the president's speech? >> look, i think he still has a wonderful autonomy of mind. i think he does change the conversation because it's not his conversation. we could have had a speech today for 40 minutes on retrenchment, what programs we can cut or what taxes we can cut. that's not his line of country, and i don't think he benefits from that. as the congressman said, from a continuous conversation about how we can cut the government. what kind of a presidency would that be for the next four years. he has to get back to talking about the areas where we can get something done like immigration, tax reform. even the immigration parts that brings in all sorts of people.

but he also has at deep seated opposition to war which i think is refreshing from the previous administration. >> chris -- >> i think that's the vice president just shaking hands with al roker of the "today" show. >> he's done it. >> i didn't see al. >> tamron? >> i love it. maybe he could have got us a really good get there. >> we're not very far from -- we're just past the white house, and they were still out of the vehicle, and i have to tell you, rachel, at one point we witnessed the first lady with a literal bounce in her step. they are soaking this in and really enjoying this. dwight eisenhower had the longest inaugural parade, 4 1/2 hours. this obviously much shorter, but given the beautiful weather today and the energy and really the enjoyment you're seeing from

the first family, people could stay out here all night, several hours more, but we watch as they pass the review stand. the president and the first lady looking at each other, enjoying this moment, knowing the struggle they had to get here and what they still face when we all wake up tomorrow and we're not reveling in this moment or relishing the moment that we're experiencing here, but the bottom line is we've witnessed what i think is an incredible moment for the people here, but especially for the president who, like this nation, we've gone through a rough end of the year, and this year didn't start on a better note when you look at the fiscal battles as well, but to watch that first lady of the united states bounce and show so much happiness was a great sight to see for these people who are still as you can see just about 100 yards away from me waving and screaming and hoping to get that one special picture of the president on this day, rachel. >> thank you very much, tamron hall. we're going to go -- by the way, i have never seen such a jaunty

first couple. let's brick in victoria defrancesco soto, a contributor to nbc and when this prompt ter moves i will have the rest of it. thanks for coming on. let me ask you about this reference throughout the formal part of the presentation today. what did you think about the way in which the latino issues were raised from the inaugural platform? >> well, he definitely put them front and center. he knows that there's going to be a big challenge when it comes to immigration and the challenge is in crafting to legislation that appeals to the american middle because we don't have to worry about the hard core anti-immigrant folks. we can appease them with including border enforcement. we don't have to worry about the hard core immigrants rights advocates because in having a pathway to citizenship, that is what they want. the devil is in the details. how do we craft a comprehensive legislation that gets to the issue of fairness, that says

let's bring out those people who have been in the shadows but at the same time we don't want to put them in front of the queue of those immigrants who have been here for a long time. so we're going to see that be the sticking point that the president is going to face. he has learned from the mistakes of the past. we have to make sure that this immigration reform is one that is very tough on employer sanctions and the president can point to that in saying he wants e verify, but i am cautiously optimistic that the president is going to be able to make good on that promise that he made in not just his first administration but his first campaign that comprehensive immigration reform will happen and it will be a lasting one. it will not be one where you're going to see undocumented immigration become a problem in five, ten years. it's going to be a lasting reform and the political implication of that is going to

be that you have this solid democratic constituency that is forged by that reform. i think you have a long-term policy implication and a long-term political implication in the short term. >> how do you get to the republican skeptic who says we tried a balanced approach back under reagan with simpson and the teeth were never used. all the good stuff was in there but none of the tougher stuff. how do you convince them there will be an enforcement mechanism which will be true to the purpose of the act that you pass? >> first of all, the simpson rizzoli act had a big loophole for employer sanctions because under the 1986 law you had to check documents, but there was no official way for you to verify those documents. >> i see. >> there was no computer system you could put that in. the second was back in 1986 the borders really weren't secured. it was a very lax, very -- i grew up on the border. you could still come and go as you pleased.

you can't do that now. so the president to the republican says, hey, i have secured the border like no other president and this employer sanction is going to have teeth. i put my part, now you guys have to play ball. >> well, we're watching this vice president, who is almost kinetic here, he's running around retailing, if he's not running for president i'd be surprised. i think he just said hello to terry mcauliffe. he's shaking hands, he's hugging his kid. this fellow is revved up. this is amazing. let me take us right back. there's the vice president. we'll be watching him for the next few minutes. back to martin bashir. >> thanks, chris. i'm with congressman elijah cummings. congressman, we're watching the vice president there. he played an absolutely critical role, didn't he? not just in legislative terms, but also in that election campaign. it was him that went out and gave that singular truth to the

american people about bin laden being dead and general motors being alive, and it was also him who after the president's somewhat lackluster first debate came out and basically eviscerated paul ryan. >> yeah. you know the vice president is a real special guy. >> you have nen him for many years. >> for many, many years. and he has a down to earthness, and he does not take your intelligence for granted, which i love about him. in other words, he will tell you that he's not perfect, that you may disagree with him but then he lays out his arguments quite well. we watch him, by the way, when he came to explain to the democratic caucus what happened during the fiscal cliff negotiations. i was so impressed because he told us step by step what happened, why they agreed to what they agreed to, what he did not like, where he had to kind of give in a little, and we came out feeling that he had been honest with us and that he was a

great negotiator. i think the vice president is going to play an even greater role with future negotiations. i really do. you know -- >> any particular reference to guns? >> to guns. to fiscal issues. the president said something very interesting during that whole fiscal debate. remember he said i don't know why they can't say yes to me. and, you know, it's interesting, mcconnell wanted biden. it's interesting. and i think -- >> we could, of course, speculate why that might be. >> right, right, but he was able to sit down and work it out. the fact is that i think when you got a team player like joe, and he's extremely loyal to the president, i think that's a tremendous asset. and, yes, he did play a tremendous role after the first debate, during the election, and there's some things, martin, the president cannot say because they'll say he's just saying that because he's just bragging or whatever, but for biden to go in there and talk about it, it's

a whole other thing. >> there's also the suggestion that biden is a counter balance to this president. the president is cerebral, strategic, generally sees the overall picture, whereas the vice president is engaging, tactile, and much more on the front foot. is that a fair analysis? >> i think that's a fair analysis. but you know what? in the end, they're still on the same page, which is the thing i like. when i hear joe biden and every single time i have heard him, he has made it very clear that the president and i are in sync. we may have our disagreements, but when we come out, we are in sync. and then he makes sure that he makes those arguments that the president is trying to get out. and i think we're blessed to have him. i really do. >> one of the other individuals who spoke today during the inauguration ceremony was senator lamar alexander, and he quoted alex hailey for his book "malcolm x" where hailey says

find the good and praise it. and that again was a republican senator making an appeal that actually let us not just divide them as bad and us as good, but actually acknowledge that both of us have contributions to make. let's find the good and then let's praise that. >> when i heard that i said to myself maybe that opens the door for some kind of compromise, to see the good in the many things that this country has done. it kind of coincided with what the president was saying. >> absolutely. >> we have accomplished so many great things. when we think about -- we have been on the cutting edge of ib know vation. we have come up with all kind of medical discovers. we've sent folks to the moon. we've done great things. we've sustained this democracy for over 200 years. all of those things say who we are and how great we are, that we could have transfer of government today without a shot being fired. i mean, all of those things, and

i think the president was saying this is our watch. this is our watch, by the way, and now we have to act during our watch. remember, he said something to the effect that we can argue things, how things are going to be for generations, but we need to act right now. and that impressed me and going back to alexander's comments, again, there's a lot of good in this country. and i got -- i was getting tired of people bashing the country during the election. we're not -- every time the employment rate would come down, it's horrible. i mean, we can do -- we're better than that, and i think we need to praise the good. >> back do chris matthews. chris, find the good and praise it. >> yes. that's a great phrase. i like that. let's bring in alex wagner who has been waiting to express herself. she's the superstar host ever "now" every day weekdays at noon on msnbc. a show that's breaking all the records. alex, you know, i was thinking

watching this parade is one of the annan -- this is the one we decided to keep, the big parade. >> and i think for good reason, right? the president is often accused of being too ins lars and not being a man of the people yet every time he's with the people the reaction is so overwhelmingly positive. the weirdest moments were the presentation of the vases at the luncheon and these sort of weird pomp and circumstance under the capitol dome with eric cantor in very, very close proximity to the president given the animosity there. it was an interesting optic. but an interesting day overall. i think the celebration, the tradition is really important. especially because america is such a country where tradition is not often something we praise, that we go back to, and to see this, to be reminded of the footsteps that obama walks in and those who have come

before him. you talked earlier about this speech being -- hearkening back to lincoln. i totally agree with you. there are shades of reagan's first inaugural, obviously a completely different bed politically, but the president talked about stone wall and selma. reagan in his first inaugural talked about pork chop hill. a real sense of history today. >> let's talk about the first couple. i have always thought there's something about seeing a person full up walking around. it's a very interesting primordial thing to see your leader and the first lady, obviously an attractive couple, youngish, moving around on the street there. there's something -- how did that grab you? the word jaunty comes to mind for me. there's something jaunty in their step that makes an interesting statement that's nonliteral but it really -- these people are young and gung-ho. >> and i think that's such a huge part of obama's appeal. i don't think anybody can forget that image of the first family walking out onto the stage in

2008 in grant park and it was a sense that this is america. this is who we've chosen to walk down the steps of air force one on foreign soil. this is our emissary, and to have this beautiful african-american family, young, vibrant, stylish, full of life. the first lady is obviously cultivated a lot of that in his first term in office. it's really meaningful i think for america, especially as we sort of try and figure out -- we're constantly gut checking here in this country. but he is such a symbol of movement forward, of reinvention, of being contemporary, of being modern, of being, you know, just an agent of change in a very literal sense. >> you're very stylish. i always liked jackie kennedy's style, everybody did. we haven't done it all day today. what do you make of the first lady's presentation today, the

jacket, the boots, everything. i think it was fantastic. what do you think? >> i think michelle obama -- look, we know from various accounts that she has maintained a very specific image. she wants to portray that of a strong african-american woman, clothing has been very much a part, a bedrock piece of that image. i thought that every designer that she chooses, she chooses for a reason. she'll wear british designers when the moment calls for british designers. it's a day to celebrate america. she's wearing a thom browne ensemble. reed krakoff is the an american designer. you know, michelle obama also has a sense of playfulness. she's wearing, as rachel pointed out, aubergine gloves with a darker colored jacket. she gets it. there's been a lot of talk about the haircut. that's a decision to break out of her mold, to go forward, to be her own person. that's are all -- style is often

trumpeted or denigrated as superfluous, but with her she's scrutinized on a level where it is meaningful and it's also a choice. it's as much a social and political statement as it is a fashion choice. >> tell me about thom browne. allentown, pennsylvania, right? i never heard of him. is that a big deal for him to get this first lady to be presenting his design? >> yeah, of course. i think what we learned is she's championed a number of young designers, american and international, derek lamb, rachel roy, and, again, this is an investment in american industry as much as it is a fashion choice. when you see the clothes of the first lady, there's going to be a lot of analysis about her outfits, outfit changes and what she's wearing tonight. that's hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars for the industry and for young designers who are often not household names. it's a very, very big deal for someone like thom browne or reed

krakoff. >> we were watching a scene of the massachusetts unit from glory days from the civil war. african-american unit, a bunch of older guys obviously re-enactors. that's a great scene. that's really, as i said, sort of a pom pom aspect of this. we're watching one of these parade floats go by with the women dancing. this is the part that reminds me of what it was like growing up. this is america as it looked 50, 60 years ago at least, maybe 70 or 80 years ago. the idea of you do it in person. you bring your act to washington. you demonstrate your ethnic background, your cultural stuff, and you do it for the president's eyes so he will get a kick out of it when you go by on your float. >> chris, i love this sort of home spun quality of this. you know. in a day and age where every sort of -- everything done is for spectacle, there are holograms, smoke, mirror, lights, and this is so quint sentally american. it's almost like bunting.

this very old-timy, the parade in and of itself is an old fashioned -- >> you were so right. i'm trying to get these people -- i think they might be alaskan. nobody explained this to me. i bet they were alaskan coming by. let me ask you about the whole day and how you felt about it because it seems to me as people say, this is a doubling down on barack obama. anyway, we've lost alex wagner, a superstar on our network. the parade continues. we're looking, we're going to see the president and first lady as they take their position in the reviewing stand in a moment. i saw them go into the back of the white house. they'll be out in a few moments to watch the parade. you're watching it, msnbc's coverage of the second inauguration of barack obama. ...so as you can see, geico's customer satisfaction is at 97%. mmmm tasty. and cut! very good. people are always asking me how we make these geico adverts. so we're taking you behind the scenes. this coffee cup, for example, is computer animated.

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we are back with our special coverage of the second inauguration of president barack obama and parade, which continues to wind through the nation's capital. the president and first lady have arrived at the white house and will soon take their place at the reviewing stand, and i'm delighted to say that joining us now is msnbc contributor ari melber, special correspondent for tumbler, and we're also joined by msnbc political analyst karen finney, former communications director for the democratic national committee. karen, do you subscribe to the view that actually of all his successes, winning re-election was his greatest achievement? >> i don't think we know the answer to that question yet because, as you know, the second term is so unpredintable. there are things unforeseen that could happen that could end up being the great success. >> but can you imagine the critique that would have been laid on this man if he had not

won re-election? >> here is what i would say to that, yes, being re-elected, but most importantly, being re-elected by such a broad coalition of americans. african-americans, latinos, young voters, asian americans, white americans, southern. i mean, it is the broadest coalition twice now that has elected a president. i think that is an incredible accomplishme accomplishment, and, yes, re-electing the nation's first african-american president a tremendous accomplishment. >> do you agree with that? >> i agree. i think the coalition is extraordinary and the best political progress comes when you actually can work from strength rather than desperation, and we have a president who politically is very strong. it allows him to be magnanimous. >> well, i don't know if you noticed, but paul ryan was at the inauguration. he said he felt obliged to attend. i wonder if the president had a particular line for him in the speech.

take a listen to this. >> the commitments we make to each other through medicare and medicaid and social security, these things do not sap our initiative, they strengthen us. they do not make us a nation of takers, they free us to take the risks that make this country great. >> so there you had it. you had makers, takers. he didn't mention the 47%, but that was a direct rebuke, was it not? >> it was, martin, and it's more credible now than during the campaign. what i mean by that is you can always attack people in politics to diminish them because they're in your way politically. paul ryan is out of the way. he is not the vice president. he has been vanquished. oak got the better of that argument, but what he said today was very important. he singled out social security and these programs because they are part of his agenda and part of what makes america strong and so that's what mattered to me. not so much attacking paul ryan.

i could go either way on that, but attacking the callousness and the coldness in that governing vision. >> also bringing it back to a set of values that are truly fundamentally american, tying it in -- >> we're just watching, as you can see, karen, the vice president and dr. jill biden -- >> look like they're going to the viewing station. >> they are. and they're walking up. >> i wasn't sure if they would be able to get the vice president off the parade route. >> he was certainly having a great deal of fun. sorry, karen, the rebukes continued with the president saying things like name calling is not a reasoned debate. so that's good night to rush limbaugh. he said an oath to god and country, not to party and faction. so that's good night to eric cantor. and some may deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fire. that's good night to those republicans who don't believe in science. there was a critique, was there not, of his political opponents? >> there was, but i thought what he did so beautifully was to

bring it back together to core american values when he talked about the oath that i take is like the oath they take is like the oath that men and women take when they sign up for our military is like the oath that men and women or that woman who fulfills her dream to become an american citizen takes, to remind everybody that all of these things are connected. this was a broader theme that we were talking about during this election. we are all in this together. it is not you're on your own, and that's part of why. that's what social security means. that's what the name calling and these other things that he referenced mean. we are all in it together. >> we're just going to listen to kristin welker now. kristin. >> martin, you see the president and first lady walking down the reviewing stand. sasha and malia behind them. let's see if we can get him to respond to a question. plaintiff president, how does it feel to be a two-term president?

>> very honorable try. that was a magnificent attempt. >> thank you, martin. we try. you always -- you never know what you're going to get but they seem exuberant as they're waving to the crowds, excited about this moment. the first family will be watching the parade in the reviewing stand along with the vice president and his family as well as congressional leaders, supreme court justices, elementary school students, and also, martin, members of the tuskegee airmen. so it's going to be a very full reviewing stand, and a little bit of history for you. this tradition of the president reviewing the parade from the white house first started back in 1873 under president grant. so president obama today continuing a tradition that started a very, very long time ago, but certainly the first family cherishing really this moment. this moment when they get to sit and just really take it all in. martin? >> you know, martin, i think kristin asked the right question

though which is how does it feel to be a re-elected president she asked the president as he was walking back into the white house. i think a lot of the answer quite clearly was in the address. if you compare it to the 2009 inaugural address that the president gave, that was a much broader speech. broader sounds nition and inclusive but it was also more vague. in 2009 he talked about equality but he didn't single out any particular agenda. in 2009 he talked about the idea that we're there for each other but he didn't name medicare, medicaid, or social security which he did this time. and as everyone has noticed, the discussion of the struggle for gay rights right alongside the struggle for women's rights and the rights of african-americans which he singled out here. partly reflects the fact that as a two-term president, he has a different position on some of those issues now, and he's urging us to evolve with him. >> karen, you were saying earlier that you made a point of noticing how he drew the issue of gay rights right into civil

rights and across history even as he goes now -- >> and women's rights. >> and women's rights. >> and it was a beautiful thing. that's part of the legacy of what this president is overseeing. this major demographic and cultural shift in our country. for him to bring that in as part of the inaugural address, it was very important from a historical perspective. >> just as they prepare to sit and prepare for the parade as it passes the reviewing stand, vice president joe biden giggling and talking -- oh, no, they are now sitting because the president has decided to take his seat. i was struck also, ari, by this comment the president made about his oath. when he said, this is an oath to god and country, not to party and faction. again absolutely eviscerating what has been an agenda by his opponents not to concern itself with country but to pursue anything that he wished to pass legislatively and attack it for

purely partisan reasons. >> yeah. i thought that was striking. i thought it was assertive, and i thought, quite frankly, martin, it was unapologetically liberal. we've seen a lot of speeches that reach across, and as i mentioned, as we see the first family on the screen getting excited. the 2009 address did have that broader quality. this address really clearly said that some of my opponents are over the line, that we need to pursue specific progressive agendas. >> you know, how does it feel to be a second -- re-elected to a second term? i think the smiles and giggles tell you a little bit of something. they loom they're really enjoying the day. >> as we await the parade to begin and watch the first lady and her beautiful two daughters, we're joined now by the reverend jesse jackson. sir, good afternoon. >> to you, sir. >> i wonder if you could reflect for a moment on your feelings having seen the second

inauguration of the first african-american president of the united states. >> you know, it takes place on the day we honor dr. king's legacy, and in many ways dr. king knocked down the walls, and for that he was scarred and stabbed and bled. ultimately he was killed, he knocked down the wall. and the bricks from those walls created the bridge for president obama to run across. it's an interesting convergence of dr. kick's legacy and president obama's election. it was a moving moment for me to just observe it and think about dr. king at the same time. >> i was particularly struck, sir, by the president referring to the fact that through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half slave and half

free. >> the thing there is we celebrate this year the 150th anniversary of the emancipation proclamation. we were enslaved for 244 years. we were enslaved longer than we have been free, and that freedom was taken back in 1877. it took us another 100 years to get that freedom back. we have just had the right to vote since 1965. as he reflects upon the growth of our nation from a slave nation to a free nation. we didn't know how good baseball was until everybody could play. i think he feels free to make his real case now. >> sir, it was also though the fact and the determination of the electorate not to have their vote suppressed, not to be discouraged from registering their vote that proved so effective at the election with

94% of african-americans voting for this president. over 70% of latinos voting for this president. over 70% of asian americans voting for this president. >> you see, in 1965 blacks could not street in t not vote in the south. white women could not serve on juries. you could not vote on campuses. so the unleashing of the right to vote has changed america's politics in fundamental ways and those who lost the center tried to take it back and they lost again. i think he made a significant gesture. no one who believes in democracy should try to impede access to the right to vote. it was another statement about a big case coming up in the supreme court the next investigation. trying to remove section five of the voting rights act.

that would be highly contested and clearly he's going to win on the side of maintaining section five of the voting rights. that's a big deal. >> sir, even as you were speaking, we're watching the images of the president and the first family seated in the reviewing stand preparing to watch a magnificent parade and the president himself was incapable of ignoring his blackberry. i also wanted to ask you what your reaction was when the reverend dr. luis leon gave the benediction and quoted the prophet micah where he says do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before your god. >> well, in some sense we have a kind of americanized version of prosperity gospel religion in america, and yet micah asked the question how do you worship? do you worship with fatted calves or rivers of oil?

you do justice and you love mercy and walk before god not arrogantly. that's micah's answer to the question. jesus puts another one. he says preach the gospel, good news to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, set the captive free. so i thought he was very profound in his prayer today, but i thought president obama back to that again delved deeply into the declaration of independence today much like dr. king did talking about the american promise, the big tent where you are gay or straight or whether you are black or white, whether you are in appalachia or selma, all are in and nobody is out. i thought that was the major thrust of that address today. >> thank you so much for joining us on this special day. and i'm delighted to say that having steamed through various traffic and con investigation, i'm joined by jonathan capehart of the "washington post" and

julian epstein, both of whom are special and precious to this broadcast. >> i think the president made a couple important points. one is that the role of government is -- >> important. >> the problems are too significant for any of us to accomplish individually, but secondly, i think the most important thing i got out of the speech was this idea of a permanent campaign. i think the president has realized after four years of battle scars that he will not change washington from within, and this idea now that he will go outside the beltway and marshall the public support that he has on all of the major issues to put enormous and maybe back-breaking pressure on the obstructionist republicans. if he is successful in doing that with obama for america, he has the potential of changing politics forever in this country, making it almost kind of a like a plebecite creme si.

if he is able to do that it will be the most profound change. i think he's found a way to do it, create this permanent campaign infrastructure. >> permanent campaign in fact th in fact that requires the american people to be part of the process. the president basically delivered a call to arms sort of in the same way he did when the gun task force recommendations were released and he called on the american people to help him, to call their members of congress, to show that there's public support for these things. in the latter part of his speech, he made that call again basically saying we cannot -- i cannot do this alone. i need your help. we the people must be a part of this solution. >> it's a different country than it was in 2009. it is in many ways -- it feels like the demographic is more

diverse, it's younger, it is more progressive, and it is more interested, i think, in being part of this national discourse, this national civics effort. i think obama, of all people, recognizes that change is not going to come from inside washington now. and, again, if this is successful, it will be the most profound political change we have seen in our lifetime. >> seismic. >> julian and john, thank you so much. i'm sorry we didn't have as much time as we would have liked but thank you both for joining us. i know you will continue to join us during the president's second term. and there is the president preparing and watching the parade as it passes and saluting frequently. we're all having such a great year in the gulf,

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